Royal Wedding Threat Read Online Free PDF

to standing. “Let’s get off this street.”
    Suddenly fearful that the darkcar might return, Ava hurried to her door and let them into the small shared foyer, then led the way to her apartment door, unlocking it carefully.
    “Wait.” Jason’s hand covered hers. “They know where you live. They were waiting for us.” He ran his hands around the door frame. Ava assumed he was checking for trip wires or a triggering device of some nature.
    Fear pounded from Ava’s heartto her ears in one beat. “They’d have to come through the front door to get to this one. They’re both locked.”
    “Open it slowly.” The captain relented, straining to breathe, his face frightfully red.
    Wishing she could hurry and help the captain before he passed out, Ava nonetheless did as instructed, watching and waiting, ready to spring away if the captain gave any sort of signal atall.
    But nothing happened. Her apartment looked the same way it always did—blank white walls, minimal decor, honey-oak wooden floor gleaming in the midday sunlight.
    Captain Selini clutched his chest as he stepped inside, talking into his earpiece, between gasping breaths reporting on what had happened.
    “Are you sure you’re all right?” Ava closed the door behind him, then peeredup into his face as he bent over, his face more purple than red.
    “My armor.” The captain twisted to one side, grimaced and turned back again, panting. “It’s cutting into my diaphragm.”
    “Do you need to take it off?”
    “Can you help me?”
    Ava wasn’t sure what to do, but she figured the captain must be in terrible pain to ask her to help him. Quickly, she unbuttoned the front ofhis uniform. Purple-faced and fumbling, he explained to her the straps and fasteners, and she pulled him free of the steel-plated body armor.
    He straightened immediately, his white T-shirt moving against his well-muscled back and shoulders as he pulled in a real breath for the first time since the car had struck, and flexed his brawny arms backward, testing his range of motion slowly.
    For a moment, all Ava could do was stare. She’d always assumed the captain, like all the other guards, was strong. They had physical-fitness requirements for their job, no doubt, so of course they worked out. But she wasn’t at all aware of how very physically fit the captain was until he threw his beefy arms up over his head and flexed his muscles, pulling in a deep breath as he assured himselfof his full mobility.
    Ava’s mouth went dry and she watched him in silence. No, he wasn’t as old as she’d assumed. The man appeared to be youthful and fit and actually almost attractive, now that she paid attention. Of course, he had that permanent frown line between his eyebrows that made him seem older. But other than the ever-present scowl on his face, Captain Selini was...handsome.
    Rather than gawk, Ava returned to the tiny kitchenette that adjoined her open living space. “Can I get you something to drink, or an ice pack? What can I do?”
    “Get packed before that guy returns.”
    “Was he a guy?” Ava asked as she stepped from the kitchenette to the bedroom to gather her things.
    “I don’t know. The glare of sunlight on the windshield made it difficult for me to seehim, but I thought the driver looked male. Did you get a look at him?”
    “I barely saw the car at all,” Ava confessed. She pulled out her duffel bag, then stared at her open closet and tried to think. How long was she planning to be gone? What should she pack? And what if the man who’d tried twice now to kill her showed up again? Perhaps she ought to choose more practical footwear. She onlyhad eight days until Prince Alexander’s wedding. The adventures of the morning had already disrupted her schedule.
    She gulped a breath, trying to clear her head, to focus on what she needed to pack and not think any more about what it had felt like to be in Captain Selini’s arms. He had such very nice arms. And his manly scent was